Immigration

[vernonk]

On today's Jeremy Vine Show, David Cameron said immigration has been good for Britain. Can anyone tell me in what way(s) this is true?

[bednobs]

didn't jeremy vine tell you? He usually tells me what to think. Anyway, for a tarter, more people paying tax

[sp1814]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/05/migration-target-useless-experts

[sp1814]

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/seven-reaons-immigration-good-welsh-8214022

By the way, if you're the real Vernon Kaye, can I ask, when are we going to be seeing you on telly again?

I miss you and your enormous teeth.

Oh, and say 'hello' to Tess for me please.

[factor-fiction]

I've just been listening to a radio 4 programme on how many nurses we recruit from Europe, Portugal in particular, to fill some nursing vacancies here as there aren't enough applicants in the UK. I suspect it's the same for doctors too

[jno]

you've got me living here, for a start.

[Buenchico]

Independent studies repeatedly show that immigration benefits the UK financially.
e.g: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29910497

A study by the Office for Budget Responsibility strongly suggests that the UK needs MORE immigrants:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10185342/Britain-needs-millions-more-immigrants-to-reduce-strain-of-ageing-population.html

[Old_Geezer]

Hardly more people paying tax if all they have done is taken job positions that ought to be taken by those already here. Still x employees paying £y tax.

Removing the incentive to train and pay native health workers and becoming dependent on stealing talent from abroad, is hardly helpful long term either.

Again, given that immigrants will be taking job positions that ought to be filled by those already here, then those who are unemployed as a result will be claiming benefits, negating any imagined financial benefits from immigrants.

Unless there are *additional* job positions to fill, then pulling in more immigrants to solve today's issues can not help with any increased demand from an ageing population. It is the job positions that create wealth and therefore tax revenue that is important; not increasing the population so the numbers are greater and more of an issue for the following generation to cope with.

In reality it is difficult to find any real medium to long term benefit and even the short term fixes are on dodgy ground.

Cameron does himself no favours by proving once again that politicians don't have a blessed clue.

[ToraToraTora]

SP: Vernon presents NFL on C4, last chance to see on Sunday this seasons superbowl

[jno]

no good saying all those nursing jobs "ought to be taken" by locals if the locals aren't able to do them, though, OG. On the whole I'd sooner be nursed by someone trained to do it.

[Marshwarble]

Is he the real Vernon Kay? Our survey said DER-DER!

[RATTER15]

I know the care sector often recruit foreign staff, as British staff dont apply for the vacancies, and to be honest they are usually very enthusiastic, reliable and good workers.

[Hypognosis]

If "Wanted Down Under" is anything to go by, British-trained nurses and their plumber/sparks/builder husbands are heading for Oz or the States, in search of better rates of pay. Our brain-drain is creating at least some of these vacancies, so we are 'brain-drain'ing some less well-off parts of the world.

@O_G,

If you move 10,000 people from dozens of countries into the UK, to do x amount of work, you'll need another 1000 or so to service the needs of this small 'town', which wasn't here last year. In my books, there is economic growth in that last 1000 (service industries).

[Hypognosis]

If you believe Jaques Peretti's recent films (BBC2) about the super-rich, the Russian oligarchs, who are currently distorting our housing market) are, alone, responsible for the tiny percentage growth on GDP which the ONS were so proud to announce, the other day.

Do oligarchs count as immigrants too?

[naomi24]

That’s too broad a statement. Law-abiding immigrants who contribute to society benefit society, but those who don’t fall into that category don’t.

[factor-fiction]

O_G's approach would be correct if every person was regarded as a fully flexible unit of labour that could move between plumbing, electrician, nurse, cleaner, but the labour market just doesn't work like that. It does show though that we are not investing enough in the training of nurses and others with key skills

[Svejk]

Perhaps if we had an immigration policy that only brought skilled workers in, FF. The vast majority of immigrants are unskilled meaning OG has got it exactly right.

[Svejk]

And even where we had no skill shortage, like construction, they flooded the market for 1 reason and 1 reason only, to lower wages.

[Svejk]

Make that 2 reasons, because they treat people like crap today and get away with nonsense men wouldn't have stood for 40 years ago.

[Booldawg]

Immigration has to be meaningful and beneficial to a country. Saying 'Immigration is good' is too simplistic a view as certain facets of immigration is detrimental. Its about getting the balance right.

Unfortunately the UK offers the level of comforts that attracts too much of the wrong type of immigration.

[Old_Geezer]

If the system worked properly and the job pay & conditions were deemed acceptable to someone in this country then there would be sufficient incentive for locals to take up the jobs on offer.

I do not accept anyone has to be a fully flexible unit of labour, merely that there should be sufficient training to ensure enough skilled folk in different professions/trades to cover the job opportunities that exist. But many companies/organisations seem to expect not to have to train, but to simply advertise a position and employ labour trained by someone else (even if they import folk to do so).